William Hugh McColl was born in 1839 in Canada and migrated to Iowa.
      He was married to Polley Anne Roundy in Iowa in 1868. Five children
      were born to this union, the second was Lora. (Mrs. Lora McColl Mills).
        Lora was the wife of Orville (Tonk) Mills. The McColl family came
      from Iiowa to Barber County in a covered wagon in 1878. They settled
      on a ranch about two miles east of Deerhead on the head of Sand Creek.
        One of the family members writes, "Doubtless the first school held
      in the Deerhead area was conducted by Mrs. Sue Mills Cutlip. W.H.
      McColl hired her to teach his two daughters, Ada and Lora. School was
      held in a dugout near his log house in the year 1879. In 1880 Miss
      Lou Clinkscale conducted school at the same place having six pupils. 
      Sam and Brice Clinkscale, two farm boys and two McColl girls."
        Each student provided his own seat (a soap box). This was a subscribtion
      school. No tax money was used. The teacher received $20.00 per month.
        The cattle were on free range and lived the year around on it. The
      McColls sold that place and moved to a farm 1/2 mile south of Medicine
      Lodge on the Elm Creek bottoms where they lived when the big flood came
      on April 21, 1885. One of the Maddox boys' body was kept in the house
      all day as they could not get a wagon in or out until evening.
        The family moved from this place to a farm on Elm Creek about eight
      or nine miles northwest of Medicine Lodge. From this place they moved
      to the ground floor of the Sherlock and Mills Opera building in the
      early 1900's where they conducted a grocery and dry goods business.
        From there they moved to Safford, Arizona, where Mr. McColl died and 
      is buried there. Mrs. McColl returned to Iowa where she died and is
      buried there.  
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 293 
     Submitted by: W.C. Mills